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August 4, 2014

GOLIATH by Scott Westerfeld, 2012

Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Service.) And if they weren’t technically enemies. The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board: Secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is as it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy. (Amazon)

Reviewed by Valette M.

For being fifty-second on hold for
GOLIATH at the library, the time sure went fast! I'm half convinced that
everyone ahead of me gave up and bought the book. However, I persevered, and
now I finally have it.

The characters in this
book kept true to how they were portrayed in both the first and second books of
trilogy. I could clearly see how Alek had developed in confidence while
still clinging to the earnestness that made him so likable, while Deryn
remained the cocky one of the pair and overcame every
conflict courageously Borvil, the perspicacious Loris-probably my
favorite character- grew more perspicacious and quirky every day! I
did feel that some of the minor characters were rather repetitive. But,
overall, they blended fairly well.

In most series,
the last book may be too late to bring in an almost completely new character
and story line, but Goliath pulled it off with style. Fitting in with the theme
of Leviathan and Behemoth, there was a new
exciting goal to accomplish. And, spoilers withheld, I can say that a big
secret is revealed to most of the characters, adding several wild ups and
downs. I had some issue with the ending, as it felt that the plot line lost
sight of the big goal and settled for something less the the story was capable
of. But it did leave them in a good place and tied up most of the loose ends.

Scott Westerfeld
has an enchanting style that brings his worlds to reality. I loved the phrases,
such as "barking spiders" that made his characters so endearing. His
alternate history was very authentic, and the steampunk spin on World War I
created a setting that had me hooked!